Reliability-based design of earth-fill dams based on the spatial distribution of strength parameters

In this study, a reliability-based design for the improvement of earth-fill dams is presented and the effect of improvement of the embankment for safety against earthquakes is evaluated. An inclined core is considered as the means of improvement for the earth-fill embankment. First, the spatial distribution of the strength of the earth-fill materials is discussed, following which the damage level of earth-fill dams is evaluated, using the elastoviscoplastic finite element method (EVP-FEM). By averaging the resulting damage level with the Monte Carlo method, the expected failure costs are calculated. Finally, the effect of this improvement is evaluated by comparing the expected total costs for the original and the restored states of the embankment.